J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twelve have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $190.11.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on JBHT. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $204.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $160.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $151.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Stock Performance

JBHT opened at $182.40 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $176.81 and a 200 day moving average of $168.84. J.B. Hunt Transport Services has a fifty-two week low of $153.12 and a fifty-two week high of $219.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.16, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The transportation company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.07. J.B. Hunt Transport Services had a net margin of 4.65% and a return on equity of 13.92%. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.80 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that J.B. Hunt Transport Services will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. J.B. Hunt Transport Services’s payout ratio is 31.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Spencer Frazier sold 2,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.21, for a total value of $427,262.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $786,550.50. This trade represents a 35.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Darren P. Field sold 1,500 shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.50, for a total value of $275,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,321,275. This trade represents a 10.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,314 shares of company stock valued at $1,008,962 over the last 90 days. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On J.B. Hunt Transport Services

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 2,028.6% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 149 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services by 382.1% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 188 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.95% of the company’s stock.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Company Profile

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc provides surface transportation, delivery, and logistic services in the United States. It operates through five segments: Intermodal (JBI), Dedicated Contract Services (DCS), Integrated Capacity Solutions (ICS), Final Mile Services (FMS), and Truckload (JBT). The JBI segment offers intermodal freight solutions.